Transportation LOS Methodologies

1. Transportation LOS Methodologies Transportation Level-Of-Service Methods in San Francisco: Issues and Opportunities Tilly Chang SFCTA ABAG Technical Session on LOS Barriers to Infill November 14, 2003

2. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARPurpose Review current LOS methodologies used in environmental analysis of transportation projects: • Assess the transportation LOS measures used to describe the environmental impacts of multi-modal transportation projects • Evaluate the application of LOS methods in the screening and evaluation process • Identify recommendations and next steps

3. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARFindings • The City’s definition of LOS and the methodology for measuring LOS should be expanded. • The standards for significant impact on LOS, and other applications of LOS methods should be revised. • The report’s recommendations should be refined by an inter-agency technical working group. • The City should revise its Environmental Review Guidelines. • Implementation of new methods could take place within next 6 months with the Bicycle Plan Update and Transit Corridor studies.

4. Transportation LOS Methodologies SAR Policy Framework

5. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARPolicy Framework Transportation LOS methods should recognize the policy frameworks in which they are applied. • Be customer-based for users of all modes . • Support trade-off analysis for owner-operators by promoting system efficiency goals. • Identify environmental benefits as well as impacts • Advance overall system development goals.

6. Transportation LOS Methodologies SAR LOS Measures

7. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARLOS Measures Conventional LOS measures: • Are not customer centered; favor autos • Do not support trade-off analysis in situations of constrained row • Do not capture environmental benefits of transit, bicycle and walking, e.g. energy and air quality impacts, and other impact areas (visual, noise, socio-economic, planning)

8. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARLOS Measures The “incumbent mode” problem: • Because auto is the dominant mode on the network, and • LOS measures for transit, bicycles, and pedestrians are poorly defined Auto LOS tends to be maintained at the expense of improvements to transit, bicycle and pedestrian LOS when ROW trade-offs are required

9. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARLOS Measures Current LOS definitions: “Crowding based” • Auto: seconds of vehicle delay at intersection • Transit: # passengers / vehicle capacity • Pedestrian: # pedestrians / sidewalk capacity; safety • Bicycle: # bicycles / bicycle lane capacity; safety

10. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARLOS Measures To support system-level analysis: • Vehicle-based measures should be supplemented with person-throughput or person-delay measures • Integrates auto, transit, pedestrian, and bicycle travel into a single measure based on the person-capacity of streets • Typical unit of analysis for transportation impacts should be raised from intersection level • Corridor perspective is more appropriate to transit and bicycle network projects

11. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARLOS Measures Environmental Benefits/Other EIR sections • Air quality and energy analyses rely on intersection-level vehicle inputs; consider super-intersection level • The project energy and air quality “benefits” of bicycle and pedestrian projects (e.g. renewable energy/zero-emission) should be recognized and documented. • Other project benefits could also be captured in EIR chapters evaluating visual, socio-economic and planning impacts/benefits.

12. Transportation LOS Methodologies SAR Applying LOS Methods

13. Project is proposed 1 Screening: Might project have an impact on LOS? Initial impact study conducted 2 Evaluation: Is project expected to impact LOS beyond a significance threshold? 3 EIR prepared Transportation LOS Methodologies SARApplyingLOS Methods • Measure environmental (transportation) impacts:

14. Transportation LOS Methodologies SAR ApplyingLOS Methods LOS measures are used in screening process: • Based on past practice, and • Based on Environmental Review Guidelines: • Autos: Removal of traffic lane; traffic increase of 5% or more; nearby intersections at LOS E would be affected • Transit: “the project has elements which have potential to adversely affect” operations or capacity • Pedestrians: “the project has elements which have potential to adversely affect safety or facility adequacy” • Bicycles: None

15. Transportation LOS Methodologies SAR ApplyingLOS Methods LOS measures are used in evaluation process: • Impacts on transportation LOS compared to “significance thresholds” • Identifies need to avoid, minimize or mitigate impact • Thresholds • Generally “E” for significant impact to auto/transit; thresholds of significant impacts to bicycles, pedestrians undefined • Benefit measures not consistently included

16. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARApplyingLOS Methods Issue: • Long-term system development goals/”Transit First” • Uncertainty of Likely Impacts - Lack of documentation from “before/after” • Need for streamlining the process Proposed Solution: • Vary significance thresholds on priority networks • Pilot trials for “reversible projects”/documentation • Conduct Master EIRs to identify “Neg Dec” and “Mitigated Neg Dec” projects

17. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARApplyingLOS Methods Priority Mode Network • Use existing priority mode networks as a start (e.g. TPS) • Develop LOS impact standards for each mode that reflect a street’s multimodal role (e.g. TPS or BPS), transit supply and land uses. • Transportation LOS impact standards would depend on the mode(s) prioritized on that street • For example, impacts to autos from a transit project proposed for a Transit Preferential Street would be less significant than for a street that is not on the TPS network (Mission Street transit bulb outs).

18. Transportation LOS Methodologies SARPublic Comment Summary of Public Comments: • Transportation agency and advocate support, some Planning Department concerns • Mixed views on role of Auto LOS in impact analysis • Land Use: LOS standards developed to evaluate transportation impacts should be used to evaluate all projects, e.g. development projects, not just transportation projects. • Next Steps: support for a LOS TWG as well as continued public involvement and input to refining recommendations.

19. Transportation LOS MethodologiesDraft Strategic Analysis Report (SAR) End of Presentation THANK YOU